


just like the old stars

by jaeminz



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Blushing, First Meetings, Fluff, Hitchhiking, Las Vegas Wedding, M/M, Swearing, Weddings, lapslock, the wedding doesn't actually happen in this but it's important to the plot, this is just soft idk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:01:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25882525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaeminz/pseuds/jaeminz
Summary: kyoutani meets a stranger at a gas station and, for some ridiculous reason, decides to give them a ride.
Relationships: Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 94





	just like the old stars

**Author's Note:**

> for my dearest soonhee! congrats on finishing ur class, im proud of u always. u mean the world to me and i love you!!!  
> please enjoy this silly little thing to indulge ur weebness <3
> 
> (title from jason mraz's "i won't give up" bc i am nothing if not emotional)

even on a good day, kyoutani doesn’t have a lot of self-preservation.

he’s reckless and impulsive in his day-to-day life, but he still has some bits of common sense. that common sense is what makes him on edge when he pulls into a decrepit gas station in the middle of nowhere-- it’s pitch black around him, the flickering lights of the gas station keeping him and his truck in an oddly contained dome of light. he can feel his shoulders tense.

there’s a stranger leaning against the vending machine, but the rest of the station is completely empty, and they meander over as soon as kyoutani steps out of his truck to put in the gas pump. both of their hands are in their pockets, and there’s a too-wide grin on their face as they approach. kyoutani watches carefully, resting a hip against the side of his truck and crossing his arms over his chest; it’s better than just digging his hands into fists, anyways, although he does that too.

“hey there,” the stranger says, slowing to a stop just a few feet away, “how’re you doing on this fine evening?”

“it’s the middle of the night.” kyoutani cuts back. “i’m tired.” he doesn’t really care for politeness with a complete stranger, and he’s good at cutting small talk short so he can have some peace and quiet. still, the stranger’s smile widens even more, and for some reason the crinkle of their eyes with it makes kyoutani’s brain shut down.

“i can't blame you. also, hey,” a lock of hair falls into their face, light brown and bright as they move to tuck it behind their ear, “my name’s yahaba. would you mind giving me a lift out of here?”

“i can’t.” kyoutani’s mouth replies on autopilot. it’s probably a good thing, because he’s still staring at the little bit of hair that disappeared behind yahaba’s ear. he takes an aborted half step back, and yahaba tilts their head.

“c’mon, are you sure?” they take that equal half step forward so there’s still that perfect square of concrete between them. “my ride broke down a few hours out and i really don’t want to end up staying the night here. it’s already late and i’m getting cold.” then yahaba fucking pouts at kyoutani and bats their lashes. it’s obnoxious, so kyoutani snarls back just to cover the fact that maybe his resolve weakened for a moment. yahaba sighs, kicking at a pebble on the ground. their shoes are scuffed but clearly expensive, and everything starts to feel a little more unsettling than it already was. kyoutani takes in yahaba’s rumpled dress shirt and pressed slacks and thinks, okay, this is really fucking weird.

“i just need a ride to a motel or something.” yahaba adds. they look unreal here, cast under buzzing neon lights and staring at kyoutani with so much hope. fuck. “you wouldn’t make me spend the night at a dingy gas station, would you? it’d be really dangerous.”

the same lock of hair from before falls out of its place and kyoutani is struck with the inexplicable urge to reach forward and brush it away. he catches himself and feels ridiculous and also way, way too tired to deal with any of this.

“please?”

kyoutani shouldn’t give in just because the stranger said please. that’s such a stupid reason and it’s so dangerous and absurd, and yet kyoutani sighs and finds himself gesturing over towards the other side of his truck.

“just until the nearest shit motel or whatever.”

yahaba cheers, clapping their hands so loudly that the sharp sound of it reverberates across the station.

“nice! thank you so much.” they blink once, smile hesitating before it returns in full force. “by the way, my knight in shining armor, what’s your name?”

kyoutani takes the pump out of his truck and puts it back in its place, wiping his hands on his jeans and frowning. yahaba looks far too relaxed for someone about to ride off with a complete stranger, but kyoutani doesn’t want to question it too much, so he draws his mouth into a thin line.

“i'm kyoutani.” he tells yahaba, because apparently he’s a fucking idiot who never learned that you should never tell a stranger your real name.

“what a nice name.” yahaba says. it sounds like an actual compliment, which puts kyoutani on edge more than it should. he distracts himself by sliding into his car and reluctantly unlocking the passenger’s side, waiting as yahaba comes closer.

yahaba moves easily to sit inside; there’s something about the way they look in kyoutani’s car with their fancy clothes against his well worn car seats that makes kyoutani’s hand fumble with the ignition.

“y’know, i think hitch hiking might be illegal here.” yahaba says as they buckle their seat belt. they look at kyoutani with these stupidly bright eyes, still smiling. “you’re still okay with this, right?” there’s absolutely nothing in yahaba’s voice that would let kyoutani back out, but kyoutani doesn’t know if he would want to anyways.

“i don’t really give a shit.” he replies, since his brain-to-mouth filter is gone and he can only mutter back honest answers. yahaba grins at that, genuinely pleased, and kyoutani grins back before realizing what he’s doing. he pulls his face back into a frown and focuses on the dusty road ahead.

“kyoutani,” yahaba sighs out, “you sure are something.”

kyoutani grunts a little noise in response, desperate to find some sign of civilization and end this unusual encounter. he doesn’t like feeling so off guard, not when he’s used to being the unpredictable one in any situation. yahaba’s constant smiling is throwing him for a loop.

they last about five miles without either of them saying anything else, although yahaba keeps shifting around in the car seat and humming tiny fragments of melodies under their breath. they always stop and switch to another song before kyoutani can figure out what song it even is, despite the fact that each one is unerringly familiar.

“i’m gonna turn on the radio.” he says eventually, refusing to ask for permission when it’s his car and he’s the one driving. yahaba doesn’t complain, so kyoutani finds the first radio station he can and turns the volume down so it’s at a comfortable level, just barely enough to cover the silence. the road stretches on for what seems like forever, but there’s still no sign of life or hotels for miles to come, so kyoutani sighs and gets ready to accept the fact that he may have this stranger in his truck for much longer than he’d like.

“where are you headed, kyoutani?”

kyoutani chances a glance over to see yahaba watching him, face full of that picture perfect innocent curiosity. kyoutani grips the steering wheel a little tighter.

“south of here.” he answers vaguely. yahaba makes a noise of approval.

“y’know, i’m actually going south too. maybe my stop is along the way.”

“i’m not a bus driver.” kyoutani huffs. “i’m taking you to a motel and that’s it.”

“aren’t you tired, though?” yahaba presses. “if you take me to where i need to be, i’ll drive part of the way and you can rest.”

“i’m not letting you drive.” kyoutani rolls his eyes. “you don’t even know where i’m going, anyways, and i’m not taking a detour to drop you off somewhere.”

“tell me where you’re going then.” yahaba says. when kyoutani doesn’t reply, they grumble under their breath and then sigh. it sounds like they’re steeling their resolve. “well, i’m one of the groomsmen for my friends’ wedding in vegas, and i was supposed to get there sometime tonight. i’m pretty sure it’s just a few hours from here.”

kyoutani hesitates.

“where in vegas?” he asks finally. yahaba’s grin sharpens immediately.

“emerald at queensridge. it’s gonna be fancy as shit.” yahaba answers easily. “will you take me?” kyoutani thinks for a second, blinking slowly, and then a connection forms in his head. it's not quite a realization, but it's close; a half-finished thought that builds up his curiosity enough to make him pull the truck over onto the side of the road and park. he keeps the headlights on so he can see and then turns to yahaba. to their credit, the stranger actually looks properly concerned at the sudden action, and kyoutani has to fight to stop from grinning.

“what’s your friend’s name?”

“huh?” yahaba hesitates.

“your friend that’s getting married. what’s their name?”

there’s a moment where they just stare at each other. kyoutani has to fight his restlessness and remember to wait for a reply instead of getting impatient and snapping. yahaba must decide that it’s better to just answer honestly, since kyoutani clearly isn’t planning on driving any further.

“tooru.” he mutters.

“oikawa tooru?” kyoutani prods.

yahaba freezes. when they look at kyoutani, there isn’t quite fear there, but there’s a certain layer of rigidity and tension. it’s not a verbal confirmation, but kyoutani knows he’s right.

“i’ll take you to the wedding.” he tells yahaba, pulling his truck back onto the road. yahaba doesn’t ask for clarification, but kyoutani still adds, “i’m going there too.”

“you’re going to oikawa’s wedding?” yahaba repeats. their voice sounds a little strained, although kyoutani thinks it might be more out of confusion now than anything else.

“i know iwaizumi.” kyoutani admits, snorting at the incredulous look on yahaba’s face. “he was my mentor for a thing in college. i’m one of his groomsmen, y’know.”

“really?” yahaba eyes kyoutani up and down. even with kyoutani’s stained t-shirt and ripped denim, yahaba gives an appreciative smile. kyoutani flushes. “well, this is a fun turn of events.” they lean towards the window, corners of their lips still turned up, and for some reason kyoutani licks his lips and desperately tries to prolong the conversation.

“how do you know oikawa?” he asks.

“i met him and iwaizumi back in high school. the three of us were in a volleyball club together, actually.” yahaba shrugs. “i looked up to oikawa a lot, and we all stayed in contact even after they graduated.” half a beat passes where it’s just the bass from the radio and the chirping of crickets, and then yahaba snorts. “oh, shit, you’re mad dog, aren’t you?”

kyoutani bristles. he doesn’t dare look at yahaba now, not when he’s sure that the other is looking at him with some sort of scrutinizing glare. he’d only met oikawa on a few occasions, but it had been more than enough to earn kyoutani the worst nickname of his life; while he’s pretty sure oikawa doesn’t mean any harm by it, it’s hard to tell if yahaba has the same good intentions by bringing it up.

“so what if i am?”

“nothing, i’m just surprised. you’re a lot friendlier than i thought you’d be.” yahaba shrugs. there’s a nonchalance to his words, and it really does remind kyoutani a lot of oikawa. now that he thinks about it, yahaba carries himself similarly to the older man; there’s a practiced confidence in the way that they both smile and an air of near flirtatiousness whenever they talk. it’s unnerving, to be honest, but not as much as the sincerity in all of yahaba’s words.

“i’m not friendly.” kyoutani grumbles, although he’s not really sure why this is something he’s even arguing over.

“sure you are. you’re giving me a ride to the wedding, after all.” yahaba pauses, and then a smirk grows on their face. “i mean, if it makes you feel better, you’re also cuter than i thought you’d be, but i thought that was obvious.” they give kyoutani a more obvious once-over, and he has to concentrate on not screaming in response.

“whatever.” he huffs. the back of his neck is red, but yahaba just chuckles and shrugs it off.

“oikawa’s mentioned you a bunch. iwaizumi, too, although for some reason it didn’t click until just now. you really live up to the expectations though.”

kyoutani raises an eyebrow.

“expectations?”

“well, i’ve heard so much about you that it’s just,” yahaba waves a hand, “y’know. you’re broody but sweet. all bark but no bite, that kind of thing.”

“i bite.” kyoutani frowns. he has no idea why he’s so defensive over these things, but maybe it has something to do with the way yahaba looks at him whenever he speaks. “i’m not sweet, either.”

“you gave me a ride despite the fact that i’m a complete stranger and i could’ve been a serial killer or something.” yahaba points out.

“maybe that's what i was hoping for. maybe i really didn’t want to go to the wedding and i was just waiting for you to kill me.”

“aw, that’d put such a dampener on oikawa and iwaizumi’s big day.” yahaba laughs, which is so weird because they’re still mostly strangers and they’re joking about kyoutani hypothetically getting murdered. kyoutani still smiles back, which must make him even weirder.

“anyways,” yahaba continues, “since now we know that neither of us are unhinged killers, why don’t you tell me about yourself? i wanna hear something about you that i don’t already know.”

it turns out that that’s much harder than either of them expected; kyoutani is embarrassingly pleased to find out that iwaizumi talks about him often and that even oikawa is a bit fond of him. on the other hand, kyoutani doesn’t know that much about yahaba, since most of his conversations with iwaizumi are about coursework, presentations, or oikawa. kyoutani had never heard someone complain about someone else with so much fondness.

(he’s dreading the wedding a little bit, honestly, just because he knows the whole thing will be cheesy as hell and he’ll probably want to throw up but will instead end up crying. it’s whatever.)

they talk for the next hour or so about what they’re doing, and kyoutani finds out that yahaba is the same age as him, single, and working as a sports instructor just a twenty minute drive from kyoutani’s apartment. kyoutani offhandedly mentions that maybe he’ll stop by to watch yahaba teach sometime, and yahaba’s returning smile manages to render kyoutani speechless for the next five minutes.

after miles of slowly brightening lights and growing buildings of civilization, they eventually make their way to the hotel where they’re supposed to meet everyone else. kyoutani hands over his keys to the valet and shoves his hands deep into his back pockets, rocking back on his heels and hesitating. yahaba steps out of the car easily and moves towards the hotel before slowly turning back around with a hesitant smile.

“hey, kyoutani--” yahaba starts, and then someone starts yelling.

they both wince, glancing around until they see a haphazard but clearly ecstatic oikawa tumbling towards them in sweatpants.

“yahaba, mad dog!” oikawa cheers, jumping forwards so that they both have to reach forwards to steady him. “look at you two! we’ve gotta get you guys with everyone else. c’mon, let’s go.” he pulls both of them by their wrists into the hotel, where a couple of the other groomsmen are lounging around in their own casual wear. oikawa leaves for a moment to fret over one of them, which gives kyoutani and yahaba enough time to blink at each other in relative quiet.

“save a dance for me at the reception, alright?” yahaba manages a wink at the end, which only barely makes kyoutani’s ears turn pink. he bites the inside of his cheek and nods his assent, hoping it’s enough of an answer. it must be, because yahaba’s delighted face ends up being the last thing that kyoutani sees before oikawa whisks them both away, and kyoutani finds himself very, very excited for the wedding.

**Author's Note:**

> no i still dont understand kyoutani OR yahabas characters. no i also dont know how to properly end fics. its fine ive accepted my fate


End file.
